Life in Berk
by Equinelover12348
Summary: Short stories of life in Berk. Some are sad, some are angsty, some are plain adorable! I'm not very good at summaries but everyone loves these so read on my good people! I don't own HTTYD and all that jazz...
1. Fireflies

**Fireflies**

Fireflies were rare in Berk. Actually, anything pretty was usually a scarce sight. That night though, there were hundreds. And Toothless was fascinated.

The glowing orbs would dart about, and the dragon's eyes would follow, wide as a puppy's. They were full of wonder as the little bugs flew around his head like sparks from a fire. Focusing on a single light as it swerved in a drunken line toward his nose, they soon crossed as the firefly alighted on the snout of the deadly Night Fury. He stood still for a moment, holding his breath as if waiting for something extraordinary to happen. It didn't. The little orb took flight again and joined its brothers and sisters in the large group overtaking the outskirts of the village.

The dragon's eyes narrowed to slits. He crouched down low, using his black scales to camouflage himself in the darkness. The cloud of fireflies moved back toward Toothless, and his muscles tensed. In a split second he had leapt into the swirling mass of lights with a mighty snap of his jaws and landed gracefully on the other side. He turned to face the curious humans who had been watching him from nearby and gave them a toothless smile.

"Let's see how long it takes him to realize that fireflies taste bad," the boy said.

As if on cue, the dragon's face twisted in disgust. He crinkled his nose and spat out a glob of glowing goo. Upset and embarrassed, he turned and let out a roar at the bugs. As if to mock him, the unaffected fireflies swarmed about his head.


	2. If Tomorrow Never Came

**I'm sorry about the lack of author's note or whatever the heck this thing is here on the first chapter. My lack of computer skills plus the fact that this is my first fanficion should give me enough of an excuse right? Probably not. I could go back and edit it but I'm too lazy and far too busy. Well, busy in my own opinion. Anyway, it's short, it's not very good, but I wrote it anyway! Feel free to insult my work as long as you come up with an interesting insult…**

**Enjoy!**

―――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――

**If Tomorrow Never Came**

If tomorrow never came, if today was the last day I ever spent on this earth, I think I'd be ok with that. Everything was just how it should be. My dad could look at me and be proud. The village and the dragons were at peace, living amongst each other willingly. Astrid loved me back. And who could forget the scraggly group of teenagers who were always there to pick me up, usually literally. But these weren't the main reasons why I finally felt happy. It was the love and companionship of a single creature, a creature so vicious it once killed for pleasure that made my new life more than wonderful.

I leaned back on a moss covered rock and took in the world around me. The evening sun poured golden light through the dense forest, its reach slowly retreading from the lake's glittering surface. Songbird's trills and calls echoed through the silence of the forest, and only glimpses of their colorful wings could be seen from beside the water. A light spring breeze tousled my brown locks, moving them back and forth, back and forth. Undoing the strap, I pulled off my harness of and placed it gently aside. Today had been a good day. We had soared higher and higher until the clouds were a distant memory, weaving and spinning, dancing in a world all our own. In the air there was only him and me, two friends as one. It was my escape, it was my world, it was the only place where I could be…me. And it was all because of him.

Breathing deeply I closed my eyes. I let the day's simple pleasures sink in and drifted off into sleep, where no dream could ever be better than reality again…before a dark form appeared out of nowhere and knocked me a clean five feet sideways. After shaking off the blow, I looked up to see Toothless crouching down, ready to play.

If tomorrow never came, that would be just fine.

―――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――

**Like it? Respond! Tell me anything because I've never actually showed anyone my writing before. Thanks so much for reading, it helps my self esteem. I don't have much since all I do when I don't ride horses is write in my pajamas….don't laugh, I bet you've all done the same.**


	3. Gone

**So when I was reading some fan fictions to 'get into the mood' and write, I noticed that the ideas I used for the stories I've done and some of those I planned to do are similar to others on the site. I'm so sorry! I never tried to copy anyone's ideas; they all were original to me. Please forgive me? Anyway, this one isn't as happy as the others, and is longer too. (I've got what should be a decent sized chapter coming up. Yay!) I changed my style a little to make it sound more formal cause Toothless is cool like that and I imagine this is how an great immortal dragon would talk. Enjoy!**

――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――

**Gone**

I was flying. The wind was beneath my wings, lifting me ever higher into the blurring line between heaven and earth. Sweet scents of clouds filled my nostrils as they sailed past me, a thousand colors against the setting sun. Freedom; that was what this was. Harmony, rhythm, serenity, all working together to release my spirit. My body knew what it was supposed to do, the movements blended together into a kind of dance. I was power, I was pride. Muscles tensed and eased, taking me farther and farther into bliss. I was flying. It was beautiful. But something was missing. I couldn't place it, but there was something wrong with this flight. I didn't see how; this was everything flying was supposed to be, wasn't it? The sky was a dragon's kingdom, and that kingdom was all he ever needed. Searching for the reason behind my distress, I looked down at the waves of the gray ocean as they crashed against the rocky cliffs. That was how it always was in that world. Everything was forceful, rough, and cruel. I turned my gaze away from those cliffs in disgust. That was the world of humans. _Humans._ The word struck an unknown feeling. They were supposed to be beasts, destroying everything in their path. But somehow, something told me that wasn't completely true. That something seemed to be calling me down, down to that world of filth, down to something familiar. I didn't know why, but I listened. Spiraling down from that ecstasy to the water's surface, I turned toward the cliffs. This time though, I saw something new. Standing on the edge was a figure. It was small, fragile looking. Each gust of wind seemed to almost knock it over, but still it stood. I flew closer, hesitant now, keeping my senses alert for an attack. It was one of them. But it was so much different than the others. It was weak, for one, but it was alone too. I had never seen a human alone before. They were always together, always dependent on each other, even if they wouldn't openly show it. It didn't make sense to me. I never relied on anyone; it was just me and the sky, the way I liked it. I started to turn back, but that call came even stronger. It seemed almost urgent, pleading now. It was calling me to that human. Closer, closer. Something in the back of my mind remembered this, it remembered something good. But from where? This was all wrong. I should be up in my world, not down here in theirs. I shouldn't be flying toward this human like I…_Like I cared. _There wassomething about this Viking that struck me. As the distance between us closed to only a hundred yards, the human looked up. Soft brown locks moved from his face and he looked right at me, his gaze piercing my own. His eyes were a deep green like an endless forest, yet sharp. They were eyes that had felt the pain of a life of loneliness and sorrow, a life of never fitting in, of never being good enough.

Eyes I knew. And I remembered.

They were memories of fear and mercy, of trust and friendship, of two souls that had become one, lost without the other in so many ways, of relying on someone, not just because you needed them, but because you wanted to, because they were your equal, your friend, your rider.

_Hiccup. _

He had made me whole again. _No, _I thought. _He had made me whole for the first time. _Warmth enveloped me. A dragon lived a life of solitude, and I had always thought that was enough for me. But I was wrong. This human was my companion, a part of me. They gave me flight, I gave them friendship, but it was all so much more than that.

I raced toward him with my mouth slightly parted, exposing my toothless gums. He had always laughed at this. I didn't understand why, I was simply copying Hiccup's own smile. But he wasn't laughing now. He still stared back at me with those sad eyes.

I was worried now. The cliffs suddenly seemed so far away, like I would never reach them. I had to reach them; he was my boy and I had to protect him, be there for him. But Hiccup just stood there, sorrowful, his gaze tinged with regret. But for what? The only wrong he had ever done me was the loss of my tailfin, even though his friendship and our flights together had more than made up for it. I wouldn't fly without him. _I couldn't fly without him_.

The world turned upside down. I was falling. My body was out of control, spinning wildly as I plummeted. I tried to turn my tailfin to stop myself, but it wasn't there. Hiccup wasn't there to save me. I looked back to the cliff, but Hiccup was gone. Everything was. Then I hit the water.

―

I jolted awake and cried out with the fury of a thousand demons. The world around me was as silent as death. Hiccup was gone, and he was never coming back.

――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――

**Aww…poor Toothless. Don't worry big guy, you've got thousands of fans who would give anything to make you feel better! Please read and respond so I can hopefully become a better writer. I need the skills for school and stuff!**


	4. Fishing

**So here's the next chapter. It's not my favorite, but hey, I tried. I've been really busy with school and horses so I did this chapter really quickly. Hope you can all follow whatever I was trying to say here and get some humor out of it! **

――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――

**Fishing**

I sat down on a rock next to the lake and started unpacking my gear. I think I had all I needed. I wasn't the best in this area, mostly because I had never cared enough about it to pay attention. Dad had tried his best, but he gave up when I was little. Fishing. A _man's_ job. Sure, working the big boats and nets was hard work, but I didn't really seen the glory in reeling in fish stupid enough to bite a hook with a worm on it. So any time anyone had tried to show me how to fish, I usually went off looking for trolls or something that could be of some use. Well, useful in my opinion. Dad didn't believe in trolls.

I wasn't sure about my skills, but there was no way I could be worse than Toothless. He couldn't catch a fish to save his life. They could be swimming casually right at the surface and he'd still miss them. If all dragons were that bad at fishing, it was no wonder why they always stole our livestock for food.

I took out the pole and set up the hook with bait. Toothless hadn't showed up yet. He probably was off somewhere hiding, ready to pounce and take the bag of fish I always brought. There wasn't a bag today. The fishermen hadn't brought back the normal load so everyone was keeping a close eye on their food supply until they did, which means twenty missing fish would have been a lot more obvious now than before. I couldn't risk someone finding out I was stealing food; it might lead them to Toothless. So for today, I decided to try something new. I was going to, willingly, fish.

A black nose nudged my side. I looked over to see Toothless staring back, obviously confused about the lack of food. He made a few noises that emphasized his question and kept nudging me.

I smiled at him and scratched under his chin in greeting. "You'll get your food soon enough big guy. You're just going to have to be patient."

The Night Fury gave a frustrated humph and walked away indignantly. I should have known better. Toothless didn't like waiting. But as I finished setting up he became more and more interested in what I was doing and eventually sat down behind me. Now came the part that required skill. I stood up, bringing the lengthy pole behind me and took a breath. With a sharp twist of the wrist and arm the line went flying…as did the entire pole. I had forgotten the most important rule: always hold on to your fishing pole tightly. It landed with a splash in the center of the lake and sunk to the bottom. My heart stopped. That was my DAD'S pole.

I had to get it back one way or the other. Taking off my shirt and shoes and placing them neatly on the rock, I dove into the water. It was cold. REALLY cold. I came up with a yelp. Toothless, alarmed by my sudden cry, jumped in after me. He pulled me back out and dropped me on the shore, giving me a look that let me know he questioned my sanity.

"I have to get the pole if you want something to eat, Toothless." He seemed to perk up a little then, and turned toward the water. He dove in with a splash that got my dry clothes soaking. He wasn't down long. After about a minute Toothless shot up out of the lake and landed on the shore with the pole between his teeth. He grinned at me, obviously proud of his achievement, before…

"Toothless, NO!"

…the pole snapped in half.

We both stared down at it, Toothless looking disappointed. I was dead. No, I was worse than dead. I had no idea how to fix a fishing pole and if it didn't look the same as it was before Dad left…

Toothless nudged my side again. He was still hungry. I guess feeding a hungry dragon that probably could eat me if it wanted to would have to come first. I took a last dreaded look at the broken pieces of wood and turned back to the tackle box.

Inside there was a net. It was a small one, but I guess it would have to work. I had seen villagers use nets enough times to guess how it was done. Bending over with the net ready in my hands, I scanned the churned up water for fish. There was a sliver of silver, some movement, and suddenly a small school of fish appeared out of the cloudy muck. This time, I'd get it right. I threw the net on top of them and let the weighted ends hold them down. Doing my best not to create any openings I grabbed the sides and hauled in the catch. The creatures twisted and turned, fighting as hard as they could. I had gotten a lot of them and it was difficult to hold them all down. Once I managed to get the fish a safe distance away from the water I opened the net. The dozen or so fish flopped around, gasping for air. I was quite proud of myself despite my fear over the broken pole. My first successful catch, and I did it all alone.

Toothless appeared almost immediately. He seemed to attack the fish, munching happily, his patience rewarded. I kept out of his way and went back to the pole to see how bad the damage was. It was shattered in a few places and broken into two pieces. It didn't look like I was going to be able to fix this. My worst fears realized, I felt like I was ready to die. After a few minutes Toothless had finished his dinner and purred contentedly. I watched him as he went to his favorite spot in the sun to rest and my eyes passed over the net…

"TOOTHLESS!"

It was torn to shreds. Little pieces of it were everywhere, mixed with broken fish bones and scales. I turned my head to glare at the dragon. He spit out a piece of the net and gave me an innocent smile.

This was a man's job. No one but a man had the mental strength to handle this.

I let out a string of curses.

――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――

**Oooh…Hiccup's cussing! Maybe I ought to up the rating. Anyway…yeah. Definitely not my best but I guess it came out alright. I actually started writing with a completely different idea than what I finished with. Read and Review! Love y'all!**


	5. Underdog

**So here's the latest chapter…**

**I was thinking about some stories I could write that are really different than those on the site so you all wouldn't get too bored reading this. I guess I took a chance on this one and went with it. Oh well, I hope you all like it anyway! I could have gone deeper into the story but I didn't have the time, sorry.**

**Enjoy!**

――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――

**Underdog**

Hiccup was always the one everyone picked on, so they left me alone. But now that he's the hero, I'm the butt of their jokes. Sure, I wasn't ever brave or a good fighter or anything that made me stand out, but I was always big enough to hold my own. Hiccup had made enough mistakes to outshine me and keep me out of the line of fire. I never really noticed how good I had it until now.

I thought now that everyone had dragons they might want some help understanding the beasts, and I certainly could do that. But just like before, no one cared about the maneuverability of a Gronkle or the altitude a Deadly Nadder could gain. They only cared about improving their flying skills, and they went to Hiccup about that. I could show them some techniques that might help them. I knew every little bit about dragons and how they flew, so I could guess how someone could fly each one successfully. But like before, no one cared.

The only difference now was that they didn't just ignore me.

It all started one morning when I was telling Ruffnut about ways she could try to get her Zippleback to respond more precisely. I was only trying to be nice; the day before she and her brother were thrown into the ocean when their dragon hadn't made the turn fast enough to avoid hitting a boulder that had appeared out of the mist. She didn't pay attention at first, but I must have gotten through to her because she stopped mending her saddle and looked me in the eyes.

"…so if you practice that just a little bit, you two might be able to pull it off. It's crazy, but it could work." I finished with a friendly smile, and for once Ruffnut didn't hit me over the head.

She thought about it for a moment. "That…That makes sense," she paused, a bit unsure. We had never really talked before. "Yeah, I think I'll try that. Thanks." And for the first time, she smiled back at me.

Suddenly there was a loud bang as the door to the blacksmith shop was slammed open. In barged Snotlout and Tuffnut. They seemed their usual selves: arrogant, pompous, and brutal. But today, something was different. They were glaring at me.

Tuffnut was the first to speak. "Trying to tell my sister how to fly, are ya?" he said irritably. They must have heard me talking to Ruffnut from outside.

"Think you're a know-it-all, Fishlegs? Think you're the new flying instructor, huh?" Snotlout added. "We've all seen you fly your fat sausage of a dragon enough times to know you're no Hiccup." He gave me a look that made me feel like I wasn't a good two feet taller than him.

That hurt. It was true, I wasn't the most skilled flyer. But I was getting better. I tried some of my new ideas, but they still needed practice. I had made a lot of mistakes along the way, especially in front of the other teens.

"You just go around telling people this and that and you can't even do it yourself. Ha!" Tuffnut started laughing. "That's a good one."

He turned to his sister. "Don't listen to this joke Ruff. Come on, let's go show him how it's done." He gave me a smirk and turned to walk out the door and their dragon waiting outside. Ruffnut's face turned red, obviously embarrassed about…about taking my advice? She followed her brother and Snotlout out of the shop and never looked back.

It didn't make any sense. I was only sharing my knowledge, trying to be useful. So I wasn't the most skilled fighter or flyer, but did that really make me and the stuff I was good with something to laugh at?

From then on anytime I said anything about dragons someone would say 'Oh, here he goes again', or 'Fishlegs, go get a hobby. Better yet, why don't you just leave?' They made fun of me in every way: my looks, my faults, even my name. I had never known just how lucky I was not to have Hiccup's bottom spot until everything fell apart.

I was depressed all the time. I never felt like doing anything. Not flying, not reading, and not even going outside. Flying was like fighting now, and I was the new punching bag. When everyone was riding and learning about dragons, it didn't matter how much I knew, because I wasn't as good of a flyer as them. I was no Hiccup. Or was I?

Hiccup had been the joke of the village, he had been the one everyone scoffed at. He started at the very bottom and became the hero of Berk. Now I was exactly where he was. Could I do the same? I definitely couldn't be the first to befriend a dragon and kill the Green Death, but I could do something else. Maybe my techniques _could_ work. Maybe, just maybe, with a little practice, I could show everyone they were wrong. I could do something great. Maybe, just maybe, by just being me… I could be just like Hiccup.

――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――

**Poor Fishlegs…We believe in you! **

**Thanks to all that are supporting me! Your simple responses mean the world to me. Love you all, and I hope I didn't disappoint. **

―**Equinelover12348**


End file.
